If you know anything about investing in silver bullion, it comes as no surprise that silver bars come in a variety of different sizes. For small-time, beginning investors the most logical course of action would be to purchase 1 ounce silver bars while the more experienced investors flock to the 100 ounce bars. With all of this interest in either very large or very small bars, it comes as no surprise that the 5 ounce bar often gets forgotten.
5 ounce silver bars are another great investment tool, and while they may be too large for the small time investor and too small for the high roller, they are perfect for someone who is searching for a middle of the road sized bar. In the following few sections we will discuss just what makes 5 ounce silver bars special and who exactly produces them.
Different Producers
A 5 oz Logo Bar from SilverTowne
When talking about 5 ounce silver bars, we must naturally discuss the many different producers that exist. Like anything else we purchase, brand loyalty comes into play heavily when looking to make a silver bullion purchase.
While you and I may both know that a 5 ounce silver bar produced by one mint is going to be nearly identical to that of another mint, investors are willing to pay more to have a certain brand name stamped into the side of the bar. If it weren’t for brand loyalty, some of the silver bar producers would not be able to charge such a high premium over spot value on their products.
Most bars are standard bullion, but some special editions of 5 ounce silver bars exist, though they are few and far between. Additionally, the fact that they are a special edition means that the price of the bar itself will likely be heavily overstated, meaning that the premium will be above and beyond any premium you would find on an average 5 ounce bar.
Some of the most popular 5 ounce silver bar producers are:
From the above list, SilverTowne is currently the most popular 5 oz bar producer, as their 5 oz “logo” bar is cheap, good-looking, and trusted in the industry.
Dimensions
Unlike what you see in the movies, most bars of precious metals that you and I handle will be quite modest in size. Instead of the big bricks of metal that are seen in almost any heist film, a 5 ounce bar of silver is small enough to fit inside your coat pocket with ease. This is convenient because most investors purchase large quantities of them and need room enough to stack and store hundreds of bars.
The dimensions of a 5 ounce silver bar are, for the most part, standard across the industry, but you will also surely encounter bars that deviate from the industry standard a little bit. The typical dimensions for a 5 ounce silver bar are 61mm long x 35mm wide x 7.3mm thick, this also translates into 1.437 x 2.624 x .246 inches.
Storage
Storing 5 ounce silver bars is not difficult, but it is also not as easy as storing one ounce bars either. The reason storing 5 ounce bars is different than one ounce bars is because 1 ounce bars come in plastic sheets of 20, but 5 ounce bars are packaged individually. They are sometimes preserved in plastic, but they are not as easy to transport in large quantities like the smaller bars in sheets.
Instead, you must find an appropriate place to stack and store your precious metals investment, but since most bars are of a standard size, stacking them is easy. Not only is stacking them not very difficult to do, the bars are so small that they take up little to no space, even in larger quantities. It is not until we reach the heavier weights of silver bars that storage becomes more of a pressing matter. Read more on storing your silver.
Premium
The premium charged in addition to the spot value of the silver present in the 5 ounce bar you are looking to buy varies with producer. While one variety of silver bar may only carry an additional premium of $2 or $3 per ounce, more popular producers can charge as much as $10 over the spot value of the silver per ounce.
Not only does the brand of bar have a direct impact on how expensive it is going to be, but so too does the person or company selling it. Some online dealers intentionally jack up the prices of their bullion products in order to skim the upper tier of customers who are willing to pay far more than they should for a silver bar. In order to get the best price you are going to need to shop around and do price comparison between different dealers.